For the past year, I’ve been studying ‘Introduction to Children Services’ with a TAFE. Several weeks ago, I did work experience at a childcare for three days. It was a big change. It felt very strange spending your day playing with kids. And yes, it’s even harder to imagine getting paid for it!
Something that I couldn’t help but notice while there, was that almost every time the parents came to pick their children up, you would hear them shout “Mummy!” or “Daddy!”. They would drop whatever they were doing and race over to greet them with a hug.
Most of the children that I worked with were pretty outgoing and happy to come to the childcare centre: except for one little girl. The first day I was there, I immediately noticed her. Amid all the laughter and gaiety, was this petite little girl with blonde piggytails, a summer dress, and a really long, sombre face with red eyes from crying. Every fifteen minutes she would break out sobbing. The reason she was unhappy? She had been left on her own. Daddy was coming soon to pick her up.
The second day came, and there she was again, looking like a little princess who was having an unofficial mourning. During the afternoon, I was doing craft with her. I did my best to cheer her up, but it barely did a thing. Talk about child who could take up all your attention, I was busy for about thirty minutes just with her trying to cheer her up, but those eyes were still glistening with tears. How she could keep crying that long, I have no idea, but she was still crying. A little child crying for Daddy to come back.
All of a sudden, she let out a joyous yell, “Daddy!”
You should have seen that face light up. Those red eyes disappeared, puff! All of a sudden, she stopped slouching and looking lifeless, and bounced out of her chair and bolted for her father.
I wanted to tell that man how blessed he was to have her. Because little girls will one day grow up. Little boys will one day grow up. I wanted to tell him to stop sending her to the childcare centre. His little princess will one day grow up, and those tender years will suddenly be history.
It got me thinking about another father, one who has had his arms wide open since the Fall, wishing that his children would yell, “Daddy!” and run to him. But very few do. Instead they run off to play with little toys and things that ultimately are worthless. Instead we are distracted by the allures of that around us. And all the time he’s standing there with his arms wide open, wishing that we would come rushing up to him to give him a hug, and he doesn’t just stand there, he looks for us, he pushes down through all the chaos to pluck us out if we want. Oh that we could somehow rekindle our love for him! If only we could grasp the incredible love that our heavenly Father has for us.
Mat_18:14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
Something that I couldn’t help but notice while there, was that almost every time the parents came to pick their children up, you would hear them shout “Mummy!” or “Daddy!”. They would drop whatever they were doing and race over to greet them with a hug.
Most of the children that I worked with were pretty outgoing and happy to come to the childcare centre: except for one little girl. The first day I was there, I immediately noticed her. Amid all the laughter and gaiety, was this petite little girl with blonde piggytails, a summer dress, and a really long, sombre face with red eyes from crying. Every fifteen minutes she would break out sobbing. The reason she was unhappy? She had been left on her own. Daddy was coming soon to pick her up.
The second day came, and there she was again, looking like a little princess who was having an unofficial mourning. During the afternoon, I was doing craft with her. I did my best to cheer her up, but it barely did a thing. Talk about child who could take up all your attention, I was busy for about thirty minutes just with her trying to cheer her up, but those eyes were still glistening with tears. How she could keep crying that long, I have no idea, but she was still crying. A little child crying for Daddy to come back.
All of a sudden, she let out a joyous yell, “Daddy!”
You should have seen that face light up. Those red eyes disappeared, puff! All of a sudden, she stopped slouching and looking lifeless, and bounced out of her chair and bolted for her father.
I wanted to tell that man how blessed he was to have her. Because little girls will one day grow up. Little boys will one day grow up. I wanted to tell him to stop sending her to the childcare centre. His little princess will one day grow up, and those tender years will suddenly be history.
It got me thinking about another father, one who has had his arms wide open since the Fall, wishing that his children would yell, “Daddy!” and run to him. But very few do. Instead they run off to play with little toys and things that ultimately are worthless. Instead we are distracted by the allures of that around us. And all the time he’s standing there with his arms wide open, wishing that we would come rushing up to him to give him a hug, and he doesn’t just stand there, he looks for us, he pushes down through all the chaos to pluck us out if we want. Oh that we could somehow rekindle our love for him! If only we could grasp the incredible love that our heavenly Father has for us.
Mat_18:14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
